In Terris prophecy, it was said to be hidden deep within the Terris Mountains, however when the Lord Ruler consumed the power from the Well of Ascension and changed the world he also changed to location of the Well. The Well was moved to where Kredik Shaw now stands, and lies in a chamber underneath the Lord Ruler's palace.

Before Vin released the power within the Well, it served as a prison for the Shard Ruin's for what appears to be several millennia. Preservation created the prison by sacrificing his mind to create something capable of containing Ruin's mind. With his mind gone Preservation's body and power were left in the world creating the Mists and the Well of Ascension respectively.

The entrance to the Well lies in the Lord Ruler's study, and was designed to be opened by an Ironpull of tremendous strength, such that the Lord Ruler was one of the few individuals capable of opening it. One section of the wall, presumably weighing several tons, could be pulled on to reveal a passageway, which leads to the the stone chamber that houses the Well of Ascension. The Well appears as a shimmering, glowing white pool full of liquid metal. The pool lies in a shallow depression in the rock and is only a few feet in diameter.